Field of Invention
Embodiments of the invention relate generally to pattern-recognition processors and, more specifically, in certain embodiments, to pattern-recognition processors having local input conductors.
Description of Related Art
In the field of computing, pattern recognition tasks are increasingly challenging. Ever larger volumes of data are transmitted between computers, and the number of patterns that users wish to identify is increasing. For example, spam or malware are often detected by searching for patterns in a data stream, e.g., particular phrases or pieces of code. The number of patterns increases with the variety of spam and malware, as new patterns may be implemented to search for new variants. Searching a data stream for each of these patterns can form a computing bottleneck. Often, as the data stream is received, it is searched for each pattern, one at a time. The delay before the system is ready to search the next portion of the data stream increases with the number of patterns. Thus, pattern recognition may slow the receipt of data.
Hardware has been designed to search a data stream for patterns, but this hardware often consumes excessive amounts of power. Some devices configured to search a data stream do so by distributing the data stream among a plurality of circuits. The circuits each determine whether the data stream matches a portion of a pattern. Often, a large number of circuits operate in parallel, each searching the data stream at generally the same time. Each of these circuits consumes electrical energy and generates heat. As a result, the amount of heat generated and the amount of electricity consumed scales with the number of patterns. In devices with a large number of circuits, the cost of the electricity and the difficulty of removing this heat complicate the use of pattern-recognition hardware.